Door latch



Aug. 24, 1954 QLHGLEY ET AL 2,687,319

DOOR LATCH Filed Dec. 27, 1949 l7 26 3 2 18 "3 T I 12 15 4 FIG 5 \NVENTORS W Hansen-r Youua- 91m ATTORPIFYSV Patented Aug 24, 1954 UNITED STATES TENT OFFICE IDO'OR LATCH "Herbert Quigley, Hastings, and Herbert Young,

'Grand :Rapids, ..Mich., aassi-gnors -to National BrassCompanygGrand Rapids, Mich, .a corporation :of. Michigan Application December 27, 1949, Serial No. 135,244

3 Claims.

manipulated manually to lock the doorfrom its inner side. When thus locked, there can'be-no knob operation and door opening fromthe outer side of the door. Further, when so looked, upon leaving the bathroom, manually operating the inner knob in the usual mannerto open thedoor automatically releases the lock; thoughof course, the lock may be manually. released'from the inner side of the door, without turning the knob, by reversing the operation used in locking it.

The present invention is directed to a simplification of the latch structure shown in a prior Patent 'No. 2,420,083, which was issued May 6, 1947, for Inside Locking Latch Construction. Its object and purpose is to make a latch which is more economical to produce, eliminating parts therein, and further to markedlyincrease ease and economy in assembling the'latch whereby there is double economy of latch production,'from the lesser number of parts required and the lesser cost of assembly. The latch produced in accordance with the present structural embodiment thereof disclosed in this application is one which is sturdy and durable, is simple in structure and, because of such simplification, has a longer. life of service. It is also more eflicientin operation for a longer time than previous latches, including the one disclosed in the above mentioned patent.

An understanding of the invention may be had from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal vertical section through the assembled latch of our invention with the major portion of the mechanism of the latch disclosed in elevation, and

Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the inside locking mechanism which is incorporated in the latch structure.

Like reference characters refer to like parts in the different figures of the drawing.

In the dis-closed structure of the latch, a hous- Iing of thin or sheet metal is providedwpreferably in two parts. Each of these parts, at its outer portion and for substantially a half of its length, is of semi-cylindrical form as at] andatvits inner '2 portion is of a channel form, there being a shoulder, as shown in Fig. 1, between the inner end of the semi-circular section I and the channel section 2. When the two housing members are placed together the outer portion is of cylindrical form and the inner portion rectangular in cross section, each side of the innerportion having an outwardly pressed rollback housing 3. The inner end of the latch housing is closed by flanges 4 turned inwardly toward each other as shown. Thetwo semi-cylindrical sections I are releasably connected together by a sleeve 5 intowhich the out-er ends of the cylindrical'housingparts are received and to which theplatet is permanen-tly secured. The plate .6 in turn is screw connected or otherwise equivalently connected at the free edge of a swinging door on which the latch is installed. The flanges 4 at the inneriend of the housing may be'connected "by suitable -means known in the art and forming no part of this invention. Installation is by boring a hole from the free edge of the door horizontally inward for reception of the housing, and a transverse opening through the door at a distance from 'the free edge of the door for the passage of a transhousing through the bottom of a sheet metal cup 9. The metal cup 9 is open at its outer sideand is provided with an annular flange 9a which, in practice, is against an annular, inwardlyextending shoulder'formed in the cylindrical portion of the housing. The rod 8, at its inner ends, has a head ill of a generallyirusto-conical form, the smaller diameter of which is inwardly of the larger diameter. A coiled spring ll of relatively light strength surrounds the rod .8 between'the bottom of the cup 9 and the inner end of the bolt 1.

The cup 9 is a part of a retr-actorfor the latch bolt which, in addition,includes two spaced bars l2 located within and atopposite sidesof the housing and which extendnearly to theinner ends 4 of the housing. Such bolt hasoperative connection with -rol-lbacks [3 of conventional structure mounted'fo-r rotative movement in the rollback housings 3 atopposite sides of the hous- 3 ing. Through the rollbacks |3 and rollback housings 3 there passes a spindle of two parts indicated at S and S, the inner ends of the spindles meeting between the rollbacks and such inner ends having a swivel connection so that one may be operated independently of the other. The spindle S at its end outside of the housing may be equipped with a knob or handle for manual operation which, when the latch is installed on adoor, will be at the inner side of the door, it being apparent from the bevel on the bolt I that a door carrying the latch as in Fig. 1 will be swung about its hinged mounting in a counterclockwise direction when closing the door. The spindle S will have a like knob or handle for manual operation at its outer end.

A much heavier coiled compression spring I4 has one end bearing against the flange 9a of the cup member 9 and extends lengthwise of the cylindrical part of the housing toward the shoulders therebetween and the channel sections 2 of the housing. At its inner end it bears against a transverse plate I5 of generally disk form which has diametrically opposed lugs Iiia located in notches or openings made in the opposed semicylindrical sections I of the housing adjacent such shoulders. The openings are of dimensions such that the plate |5 has a limited freedom of movement lengthwise of the housing. The central portion of the plate or disk I5 is pressed laterally as indicated at I6, providing a shallow channel paralleling a diameter of the disk and perpendicular to the diameter of the lugs |5a. The web of such channel H3 at opposite ends has slots, as shown in Fig. 2, for the free passage of the retractor bars |2.

The structure thus far described is a complete latch which, when installed on a door, is operable by turning either of the spindles S or S through the usual and well-known connection of the rollbacks IS with the retractor but with no provision for locking the latch so as to lock a door in closed position. Such door with the latch structure would latch in closed position when it was closed but would be readily opened from either side thereof. The structure thus far described provides the environment in which the lock structure of the present invention is used.

A lever pivotally bears against the inner surface of the plate |5, and at its inner end portion has a tail piece or arm l8 adapted to engage a roll-back when the lever is rotated to active position. At its middle portion, the lever IT has an outwardly extending finger I91 which axially engages a central recess formed by an opening in the web of the channel section I6, which thereby laterally positions the lever. has an outwardly extending arm 2|]. The free outer end of the arm 20 is inclined at an angle to the vertical, as indicated at 20a, so that when the head I on the bolt 8 is moved inwardly in any manner, if such inclined edge 20w is in the path of movement of the inclined sides of the frusto-conical head Hi, the lever will be turned clockwise. It is, of course, understood that the disk I is slotted laterally with respect to the centra1 opening for the passage of the arm of the lever through it, and for the lever to have a free pivotal movement. The bottom of the cup 9 is also slotted for the passage of the outer end of the arm 20, when, with the parts in the position shown in Fig. 1, by withdrawing the bolt through spindle operation, the cup 9 is moved inwardly to and a short distance beyond the outer end of the lever arm 20.

The lever I! also The lever I1 is provided with a member for manual movement thereof to locking position. Such member is a push bar 2| having an opening through which the inner arm or tail piece I8 of the lever freely passes, the arm having a shoulder I811 located at the outer side of the push bar 2|. The bar 2| passes through openings in the opposite sides of the inner portion of the housing, that is, through the channels 2. At its inner side bar 2| has spaced grooves 2m transversely thereof which are alternately positioned in the openings of the webs of the channel sections 2 of the housing, when the push bar has been manually operated to turn the lever to looking position as in Fig. 1, and also when the push bar is moved and through such movement returns lever l! to a position in which the arms I8 and 2|! are substantially parallel to the length of the housing. The shoulder Ifla engaging with the push bar 2| and influenced by forcings of the spring I4 through the plate l5 and thence to the lever I'l causes the push bar 2|, when its grooves 2|a are located in their respective openings through a side of the housing, to move so that said grooves 2 Id receive the adjacent edges of the openings, thereby maintaining the bar 2| yieldingly against accidental or aimless change of position. I

The push bar 2| at its inner end is shaped with a fiat transverse section 22 at right angles to the length of the bar. The section 22 has an interiorly threaded opening through it. A rod 23, at its inner end portion is machined to a smaller diameter, leaving a small stem 24 with a continuous groove in the bar around it, and an inner exteriorly threaded short end portion 25, the

diameter of the rod and of the threaded inner end 25 being such that the head 25 may be screwed through the opening in the part 22 until it is passed completely therethrough. This provides a loose or lost motion connection between the rod 23 and the push bar 2|. Such lost or loose motion connection is required because the bar 23 is slidable or movable only in the direction of its length, it is mounted on the door and accessible at the inner side of the door for such sliding movement, while the push bar 2| in addition to a longitudinal movement, had a lateral or side tilting movement. The connection made permits such lateral or side movement simultaneously with the longitudinal movement of the push bar 2| by force applied thereto, through a straight line movement of the rod 23. The rollback I3 at the outer side of the door, in a flange thereof, has a slot 26 into which the inner end of the arm I8 passes when, by moving the push rod 2| to the position shown in Fig. 1, lever I1 is moved, thus locking the outer rollback l3 and its spindle S from rotative movement.

It is evident that when a latch of the structure described is installed on a door and the door closed, the person at the inner of the door, by pushing upon the rod 23, may move the push bar 2| to the position shown in Fig. 1, turning lever I'I counterclockwise and locking the outer rollback and the spindle S against movement. The door accordingly cannot be opened from its outer side. The spindle S and the rollback I3 connected therewith are free to be operated. Upon such operation, the retractor is withdrawn, thereby moving the bolt I inwardly to release from its keeper or strike on the door jam to open the door. Such movement moves the head In against the inclined or cam edge 20a of arm 20 turning the latch clockwise and moving the inner end of the arm l8 out of the slot 26, and moving the push bar longitudinally until the notch 2! on the push bar toward the outer side of the door enters the opening through the adjacent side of the housing. Thus, when the door is opened by knob operation at its inner side the lock is released and the door opened as freely as though the lock had not been put in its operative condition. It is also evident that the lock may be released by a pull on the rod 23. It, further, may be released by pushing inwardly on the bolt 1. The lock is thus released in three separate and distinct ways, though in practice the release by pushing inwardly on the bolt ll would be seldom resorted to except possibly if a child inadvertently locked himself in a bathroom, the bolt could be pushed inwardly by entrance of a thin member of suflicient strength, between the edges of the door and the door jam, against the beveled end of the bolt to thus retract the bolt and unlock the door.

With this structure pivot pins as shown in Patent No. 2,420,083, and other transverse pins are eliminated together with the difficulties of assernbling present in such previous structure. Economy of manufacture both in the parts required and in assembly is obtained. Simplification of the structure results in not only economy, but the reduction of parts subject to wear enhances the durability or life of the latch or look.

The invention is defined in the appended claims and is to be considered comprehensive of all forms of structure which come within their scope.

We claim:

1. In a door latch having a hollow housing, a latch bolt and a pair of independently operable roll-backs, a retractor for said latch bolt connected to both of said roll-backs and operative upon rotation of either of said roll-backs, the improvement in said door latch including: a transverse plate mounted within said housing between said latch bolt and said roll-backs, said plate having a central aperture and a slot laterally disposed from said aperture; a lever pivotally bearing at an intermediate point thereon against an inner surface on said plate and having a first bar extending through said slot toward said latch bolt, said first bar having a bevelled end disposed to be contacted by said latch bolt on retraction thereof to rotate said lever to inactive position, and a second bar extending oppositely from said first bar and disposed to engage one of said rollbacks on rotation of said lever to active position; axially-interengaging projection and recess means on said plate and lever adapted to laterally locate said lever; stop means limiting inward movement of said lever; and manual means for rocking said lever about said point of pivotal bearing.

2. In a door latch having a hollow housing, a reciprocable latch bolt and a pair of independently operable roll-backs, a retractor for said latch bolt connected to both of said roll-backs and operative upon rotation of either of said rollbacks, a retractor spring operable to bias said retractor outwardly, the improvement in said door latch including: a plate mounted in said housing transversely thereof and bearing against the inner end of said retractor spring, said plate having a central aperture and a slot laterally disposed from said aperture; a lever pivotally bearing at an intermediate point thereof against an inner surface on said plate and having a first bar extending through said slot toward said latch bolt, said first bar having a bevelled end disposed to be contacted by said latch bolt on retraction thereof to rotate said lever to inactive position,

and a second bar extending oppositely from said first bar and disposed to engage one of said rollbacks on rotation of said lever to active position; axially-interengaging projection and recess means on said plate and lever adapted to laterally locate said lever; stop means limiting inward movement of said lever; and means for manually rocking said lever about said point of pivotal bearing.

3. In a door latch having a hollow housing, a reciprocable latch bolt and a pair of independently operable roll-backs, a retractor for said latch bolt connected to both of said roll-backs and operative upon rotation of either of said rollbacks, a retractor spring operable to bias said retractor outwardly, the improvement in said door latch including: a plate mounted in said housing transversely thereof and bearing against the inner end of said retractor spring, said plate having a central aperture and a slot laterally disposed from said aperture; a lever pivotally bearing at an intermediate point thereon against an inner surface on said plate and having a first bar extending through said slot toward said latch bolt, said first bar having a bevelled end disposed to be contacted by said latch bolt on retraction thereof to rotate said lever to inactive position, and a second bar extending oppositely from said first bar and disposed to engage one of said rollbacks on rotation of said lever to active position, said second bar having an inwardly-facing shoulder; axially-interengaging projection and recess means on said plate and lever adapted to laterally locate said lever; and a manually reciprocable bar mounted transversely of said housing and having an aperture engaging said second bar, said shoulder bearing against the outer surface of said reciprocable bar.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,420,083 Lickteig May 6, 1947 2,420,113 Vander Henst May 6, 1947 2,431,814 Lickteig Dec. 2, 1947 

